Research Travel Award
If you are a post-doctoral researcher who is funded by Cancer Research UK, the Research Travel Award will allow you to visit research groups elsewhere in the UK or overseas to carry out a specific piece of research. We want to see proposals that:
- offer you a chance to develop your own research career
- introduce new techniques or skills to your current research group
- establish or develop collaborations between research groups
The aim of these awards is to give Cancer Research UK-funded post-doctoral researchers a chance to develop their research skills and begin to establish an independent research career.
What is covered
The Award provides funding for:
- Travel, accommodation and research expenses to visit a collaborating research group in the UK or overseas
- Support of up to £6000 for visits of 2 weeks to 3 months
There may also be an opportunity for post-doctoral scientists wishing to gain experience in a specific technique that is relevant to their current research to apply for support to attend a skills-based training course. Please contact Matthew Kaiser at the email address below to discuss your proposal before starting an application.
What is not covered
- Any salary costs
- Funding for visits of less than 2 weeks or for visits which cost less than £500 (with the exception of applications for workshop funding)
- Funding for conference visits or lecture tours
- Visits by PhD students to or from the collaborating research group
- Visits between collaborating research groups located in the same city or town
Eligibility
All applicants must ensure that their proposed work fits within the remit of our Research Strategy.
Applicants must be full-time researchers working in a Cancer Research UK-funded laboratory, that is:
- Research staff in one of Cancer Research UK’s core-funded Institutes
- Research staff whose salary is supported through a Cancer Research UK grant
For applicants who are on a fixed-term contract the planned end of the visit should be before the end date of the contract.
Research assistants, research technicians, research nurses and other staff who fall under one of the categories above may also be eligible to apply. Please contact the Office for further details. There may be flexibility to support Principal Investigators who wish to travel or who wish to host a visiting researcher (see ‘Additional notes’ below for further information, and contact Matthew Kaiser to discuss your application). PhD students and graduate Clinical Fellows are not eligible to apply.
Period of funding
Two weeks to three months.
How to apply
Applications for this scheme are accepted throughout the year. Applications must be submitted via our electronic Grants Management System (eGMS). See How to apply for more information and to submit your application via eGMS. Application guidelines are available to download from the link on the right hand side of this page.
Applications should be made by the post-doctoral researcher who will be travelling to the collaborating group. Your current post-doctoral supervisor and the director of the research team you will be visiting should be named as collaborators on the application. The Awards can be made only to your current host institution.
The proposal should explain:
- How the proposed visit will benefit your research career
- How the skills or knowledge you gain from the visit will contribute to existing Cancer Research UK-funded research in your current research group
- How the visit will establish or develop new collaborations between the groups
The Awards are competitive and will be judged on the quality of the proposed research as well as on the benefits to you and your research group. A selection panel will decide which applications will receive the funding. Successful applicants will be required to provide a report within one month of the end of the visit. We will follow up the Award holders about a year after the visit to ask whether there have been any subsequent outputs from the visit, such as publications, and about the progress of any ongoing collaboration.
Submission deadlines
| Preliminary submissions | Final submissions | Committee review |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | 27 Jul 2012 | Sep 2012 |
| N/A | 7 Dec 2012 | Feb 2013 |
Additional notes
This scheme replaces the previous Collaborator Bursary scheme. This scheme allowed Cancer Research UK-funded research groups to host visitors from collaborating groups, and also allowed Principal Investigators and other team members to travel to other groups. The Collaborator Bursary scheme encouraged the exchange of information and skills, such as allowing team members to learn a new technique or to perform a distinct piece of work that could not be accomplished in the originating institution.
We still wish to encourage such visits between research groups. We would welcome applications that meet these overall aims but that are not eligible for the Research Travel Award scheme. If you are a Cancer Research UK-funded researcher and have an idea for a collaborative visit, we may be able to support you. Please contact Matthew Kaiser (see contact details below) to discuss your ideas.
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